spabks



(No Model.)

- W. E. SPARKS.

REVERSIBLE LATCH.

No. 314,738. Patented Mar. 31, 1885.

Ihvrrn .a rnni'r triers.

WILLIAM E. SPARKS, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, AS SIGNOR TO SAR- GENT & 00., OF SAME PLACE.

REVERSlBLE LATCH.

SPECIFICATION "forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,738, dated March 31, 1885.

Application filed November 17, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM E. SPARKS, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented anew Improvement in Knob-Latches; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specificatiomand represent, in-

Figure 1, a view of the interior mechanism of the latch, one plate of the case removed to expose such mechanism Fig. 2,a section through the locking-slide on line 4m; Fig. 3, a longitudinal section through the hub, showing the transverse slot r.

Thisinvention relates to an improvement in that class of knob-latches in which the latchbolt is made reversible,to be set for a right or left hand door without removing the covering-plate of the case, and is an improvement upon the invention of my own for which Letters Patent No. 306,545 were granted. In my said patent the arrangement is such that the latch-bolt can only be reversed when thelockbolt is thrown outward; and for the better understanding of my present invention I will briefly describe this construction so far as the two are substantially alike.

A represents the face-plate B, the case within which the mechanism is arranged; C, thehubthrough which theknob-spindle passes, and which is provided with the arms D E, one upon one side and the other upon the op posite side of the axis,whereby theknob may be turned in either direction.

F is a slide arranged within the case and guided longitudinally upon a stud, a, in the case or otherwise. From this slide two arms extend rearward, the one, G, above the hub, and the other, H, below, provided, respectively, with lugs b d, with which the arms D E will engage in the usual manner for knoblatches.

On the latch F is a pivot, 0, upon which is hung the lever, one arm, f, extending upward, the other, h, downward. To the upper arm, f, one end of a spring, I, is attached, the other end of the spring attached to a fixed point, i, in the case, the tendency of the spring being to draw that arm f forward-tl1at is, toward the face-plate.

L is the latch-bolt, of the usual bevel-nose shape, extending through a mortise in the face-plate in the usual manner. Its tail M is constructed with a head, m, at its inner end. The arm h of the lever is constructed with a seat in which the tail of the bolt will rest, as seen in Fig. 1, the head 1% standing against the rear side of the arm h. A shoulder, 12, on the inner side of the head or spindle, abuts against the forward end of the slide and so as to take a bearing thereon and serve as a stop against the action of the spring I, the tendency of which would be to turn the leverf h upon its pivot and draw the bolt inward if it were not for such stop. To reverse the latch, the bolt is drawn outward, as indicated in broken lines, the leverfh freely turning up on its pivot in so doing, and when the square portion of the face of the bolt is outside of the case, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, then the bolt may be turned upon its axis and set to either the right or left hand, as occasion may require. In my previous patent a projection or extension was made from the lock-bolt, which, whenthe latch-bolt was in the drawn condition, would stand forward of the lower end of the arm h ot'thelever; hence would prevent the possibility of drawing the latch-bolt out when the lock-bolt was so drawn into the case, but when the lockbolt was thrown out then the lever f h would be free, and the bolt could be reversed.

To avoid this dependence upon the lock-bolt to hold the latch or prevent its accidental reversal, as well as to adapt the invention to knoblatchesin which no lockboltis provided, is the object of my present invention; and it consists in constructing the lever f h with an arm extending rearward into a slot transversely across the hub, and so that in turning the said lever, as in the act of reversing the bolt,the said arm will be drawn down into the opening through the hub, and so that when the knobspindle is introduced through the knob it will prevent such turning of the said arm into the hub, and thereby prevent reversing of the latch-bolt except when the knobspindle is out of the hub.

In carrying out my invention I construct ing of the leverfh the free end of the arm P passes down into the opening in the hub, as seen in brokenlines, Fig. 1; but when the knobspindle is introduced, then such entrance of the arm P into the opening is prevented, and consequently thelatch bolt cannot be reversed when the. knob-spindle is in place. By this construction the reversing mechanism ismade entirely independent of the locking mechanism, and which locking mechanism may, if desired, be entirely dispensed with. v I

In knob-latches which are constructed to be placed upon the surface of the door,in contradistinction to a mortise-latch and such as are commonly called rim-latchesfl it is often desirableto provide a device which will lock the latch-bolt in its thrown conditiomisothat when the door is closed it maybe substantially locked without the necessity of a lock-bolt and key. I

Variouslevers, stops, and catches have been arranged to engage the hub or slide when in their thrown .or normal condition and so as to prevent the turning of the knob to draw the bolt. These have usuallybeen made'either by a pivoted lever, by a vertical slide in the rear edge of the case, or a longitudinal slide in the top of the case; but'in either case it is difficult to detect whether or not the bolt is lockedwithout attempting to turn theknob or a careful inspection. 7

The object of this part of my invention is to provide a'stop for the latch-bolt which will not only ,readily indicate the locked or unlocked condition, but will make the lock sure, and will not be liable to derangement;

and itconsists in a slide arranged in rear of thehub andmovable in a diagonal plane toward and from its locking position, and as more fully hereinafter described. I

-R isthe slide, arranged diagonally through an opening in the rear edge of the case, and. supported on a suitable bearing On its junder surface is a rib, s,--parallel with a corre; 7 On the reverse side of the slide R a spring, a, is arranged to bear between the slide and the plate of the case, as seen in Fig. 2. The outer 'end of the sponding rib, t, in the case.

slide R isfitted witha con ven'ientthumbpiece, T, by which the bolt may be moved outward,

as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, or return. The inner end or nose,w,of the slide, when the slide is inward, stands in the path of the slide H or arms of the hub, as the case may be, and so that the knob cannot be turned when the slide is in that condition; but the slide withdrawn, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1, it is out of the path of the slide or hub, and so that the mechanism is free to be worked by the knobs. As the slide R is drawn outward the rib s on the slide rides over the rib t on the case, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 2. The rib s, falling down outside the rib t, forms a substantial stop to prevent the accidental return of the slide, and the same rib, when the slide is thrown inward, prevents the return of the slide under the pressure that may be brought to bear upon it in turning the knob.

This construction is very simple, adds buta trifling cost to the manufacture of the look, its

operation is readily understood, and it indi-' cates byits position whether or not the latch is locked.

From the foregoing it will be understood that I do not claim, broadly, a slidearranged in the case with a projection extending therefrom bymeans of which the said slide may be thrown into a position to lock the latch so thatit cannot be operated by the knobs.

I claim I 1. In a latch, the combination of the slide F, mechanism,substantially such as described,

to impart forward and backmovement to said slide, a latch-bolt, a lever, one arm, h, of which extends into connection with the bolt forward of a shoulder thereon, and a springin connection with said lever, and arranged to forcethe said arm 7i rearward against said shoulder on the bolt, the said lever constructed with an arm, P, extending rearward toward the hub, and the hub constructed with a transverse slot, ,1", in the plane of the said arm P, substantially as described. 7

2. In a knob-latch, the combination ef the hub 'O, and the latch-bolt operated by the rotation of said hub, with the slide R,varra'nged in diagonal guides in rearof said hub, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a knob latch, the combination of the hub O, and the latch-bolt operated by the rotation of said hub, with the slide R, arranged in diagonal guides in rear of said hub, the'said slide R constructed with a rib, 8, upon one surface, and the case with a corresponding rib, t, with a spring, u, upo'n the reverse side of the slide, substantially as described.

' WI LLIAM E. SPARKS.

Witnesses:

WM. S. CooKE, I V CHAS. L. BALDWIN. 

